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After cocoons are gathered from their branches or baskets, they sit for two days before the silk is extracted. Some cocoons may be separated at this stage so that the moths can emerge, mate, and lay eggs that will become the next generation of…

This man from Baan Tampoung Village displays a bamboo gra dong (กระด้ง) basket that he made himself. While men only started weaving recently due to the expanding market for silk, certain tools and materials used in weaving and silk…

Before bamboo gra dong (กระด้ง) baskets became the standard space in which silkworms spun their cocoons, dried branches of trees were lashed together and suspended, and the “ripe” worms were placed among the brittle leaves. The raw…

Women come together at the home of the former village headwoman in Baan Natang Village to help her feed the worms. As their hands move expertly across the baskets, removing chewed-up stems and fragments of leaf leftover from the previous meal,…

A woman from Baan Natang Village feeds her worms their noonday meal. Before spreading the mulberry leaves out on top of the worms, she removes any worms that have turned yellow, or, as locals say, are suk (สุก), meaning “ripe,” as they will…

This shelf holds bamboo gra dong (กระด้ง) baskets that are used both for rice winnowing and for raising silkworms. Each basket is covered tightly with a vibrant cotton paa tung (ผ้าถุง) or women’s sarong that serves a dual…

You can tell that this worm is ready to spin her cocoon by her bright yellow color. People are forbidden from extracting silk from cocoons on Buddhist holy days, as taking so many lives on these days is considered to be a grave sin.

This picture shows silkworms who are nearly grown but not yet ready to spin their cocoons. In Surin, the Queen Sirikit Sericulture Center raises local varieties of silkworms in order to encourage the use of these varieties by selling their eggs.…

This woman plucks mulberry leaves from their branches in her garden in Baan Tampoung Village. Worms must be fed three times a day, so large quantities of leaves are gathered on a regular basis. Caring for trees and worms is very time- and…

Approximately 20,000 eggs are placed on paper to be sold for 10 baht for the entire sheet by the Queen Sirikit Sericulture Center. The Center sells many varieties of local silkworm, including sam rong (พันธุ์สำโรง), pictured…